Fixed it for you.

The more I read the more surprised I am that it hasn't been canceled with more and more people testing positive in the sport (never mind spectators) those in the sport are a) being put at risk and b) it undermines the integrity of the competition. Then factor in that the crowds still count as a largeish gathering and you think that would want to be discouraged. And before Chaddy quotes his best mate, the chief thingy acknowledged that cancelling events would lessen the strain on emergency services. To me, this seems like a rather handy thing to do in the circumstances regardless of its effects in slowing the virus.

Yep, obvious answer. In the case of 2 at least its made worse by being out of position. In Bell's case he's the only choice available too. No team can afford to carry 3 or 4 players even before you consider others' fitness issues or off days.

I can't imagine him being a success anywhere. That's the key problem. Actually I'm 99% certain that that's the case, but 100% certain he isn't going to be a success here without some kind of loan away from the club. All the more baffling why we didn't let him out on loan.

My rules for away kits: 1) Play in the blue and white halves whenever we can. That's what we are famous for. 2) Connect the away kit to Rovers in some way. For example the red and black halves, or the thin blue and white lines down the centre of a kit (a dark blue one I recall, but it's the blue and white lines on it I really like), or a blue and white trim. Show that it links to us. 3) Don't make the kit itself blue or white. If we need a third kit because the second kit also clashes, the away kit isn't doing its job. 4) Don't have a third kit full stop. It's just a money grabbing exercise. 5) Keep each kit for at least 2 years. I remember there was an outcry when kits were changed regularly when I was a lad. Heck I remember watching Football Focus and there was a segment on the teams that had changed their kits this season, it used to be such a rarity. Manure were mocked for it for shameless marketing. Now everyone does it. Away kits for 2 years minimum, home for at least 3 (or 4). 6) No absolutely hideous, stupid kits. The Euros keeper one and the Everton pink one spring to mind first of all. I'm sure there are a ton more. But let's not have any explosions in paint factories. Simples.

It is tricky interpreting TM's guff! Even in the SDack Graham analogy it's still pretty flawed as that hasn't been the combination for most of this season! Graham has been phased out all too rapidly (although not covering himself with glory) and Dack has been our since December, it's hard to see this having been a factor at all this season. Add in too last season Armstrong was on the wing and Samuel was injured - ergo Bereton was 3rd choice yet still had no impact it's a pretty disingenuous comment and an act of covering himself. Any roads I have no idea where he is getting said confidence in his ability from. Has looked very poor most of the time from what I have seen and heard and feel that it's best just to cut our losses. Derby sounded a woeful display and there are far too many of them from Bereton to make me think he will cut it at this level.

Think darrenrover has it right. He's not trying to boost the player but protect his "judgement". The reason I say this is because he is blatently spouting lies. As in if he said Ben has the potential to do X it's one thing, or we've not seen the best of him yet, that's fine. But to lie and say he hasn't done as well as he could because the other strikers are doing so well - which demonstrably from statistics and watching matches and highlights isn't true - isn't boosting the player at all. It's a porky, a fib, our strikers bar Armstrong haven't reached double figures combined. Half have played on the wing. It's utter fiction which undermines his and the player's crediblity.

P Indeed. Armstrong's rampant form has been matched by Gally's (4 league goals?) Graham (3?) and Samuel (2?) With stats like that Messi would struggle to get into our team

And TM is allegedly a man of integrity. Doesn't strike me as such from this article. Am sick of the PR lies spouted by managers: Kean, Bowyer, Coyle and now TM all have done it. Sickening really.

Also factor in that there are so many teams in the mix, a number of whom are above us, and we are reliant on a lot of them being on bad runs. Assuming 3rd-5th are our of reach (although not sure they are imo) that's still 3-4 teams we need to all be on bad runs. That simply won't happen. In fact Millwall are already showing they are in excellent form, so this whole other teams will continue to drop points is wishful thinking really. A bit like when we got relegated to League 1, there's far too much looking at how other teams will do and not enough reliance on our own ability.

So we're Stoke and Swansea. Should is not happening for us at the moment. It's not that it isn't possible mathematically, it's the fact that under TM we clearly won't do it. We bottle chances to capitalise on what other teams have done, hinder ourselves with an unbalanced squad and players out of position, and have an Achilles Heel against teams that shut up shop. On paper we have a chance to get into the playoffs but in reality it simply won't happen because we make the same mistakes over and over. Until TM stops doing this we are going nowhere. He hasn't stopped in 3 years so no reason for it to happen now.

Thing is we got it wrong Vs Stoke and Swansea too. Perhaps it's ineptitude rather than bottling it but the result is the same.

All this "it's a big week" stuff is tosh imo. What's there to be optimistic about in it? This week we've shown whether it's teams struggling at the bottom of the table or promotion rivals, either way we will bottle it.

Maybe more appropriate in this thread. He's not useless or we wouldn't be top half but this is surely why he has to go and has taken us as far as he can.

What is frustrating as hell is that there was nothing new, no surprises today. Under TM we go on winless runs that are relegation worthy. (Thank goodness our winning runs are promotion worthy. Sadly the winning runs are rendered impotent by the bad ones.) Bennett is not a right back. Nayambe is miles better at right back then in the centre. We didn't have enough defenders in the squad. Bell isn't good enough for first choice. Gally is not a wide player/wide forward whatsoever. Bereton isn't a player whatsoever. Travis can't do all the dirty work in midfield on his own. We need to play to the strengths of our best player (Armstrong) and for our game around him. What part of this is news or wasn't known in November? Heck most of it was known this time last year. And yet none of these issues has been addressed. That's sheer negligence. That's utter incompetence. You can't legislate for a ton of injuries or dodgy pens against you but all the above mentioned issues were redeemable. All could have been dealt with at numerous points in this season and last. To not do so, i.e. to keep doing the same thing, is the definition of madness. What's most galling is despite these idocies we have a handy team, a strong first 11 and just by eliminating the stupid, obvious, oft-repeated mistakes, we would be waltzing into the playoffs. Rant over.

No surprise that the side they target is the one with both wide players out of position. No coincidence imo.

He works hard but most players who play could do that. He doesn't offer us much at all offensively when our wide, and worst of all he tempts us to use the long ball to him which he flicks on to no one, thereby conceeding possession. So I don't think he helps defensively or offensively playing wide. Of course now I've said that chances are he'll bag a hat trick there!

Joking aside it hurts us a lot. Even Mani admits how odd the Gally out wide situation is. But just because it is a regular occurrence doesn't make it a good thing or something that can't be critiqued.

One way or another we have at least 2 players out of position. Against a decent team this concerns me. Not altogether convinced Bereton should be starting regardless of best position or not. Think this, coupled with the players out of position and lack of steel in the side could cost us. Hope I'm wrong though.

In some respects it's a huge step up. Smallwood being a good example of a player who bossed it league 1 and is out of his depth in the Championship. Likewise no way Antonsson would score in the Championship. Look at how all 3 relegated teams went back up when we got relegated. That said top beat bottom more than one would expect in the league and it is a tight league. Boro and Hull look like they're trying to get down., so maybe there's not as much in it as first thought. Maybe it's a squad size thing? Smaller clubs have just as good a team but weaker squads and less depth?

We can't keep relying on the teams around us to keep dropping points. Must win imo. Although have thought that for the last 2 and they haven't been. However games and chances to get into the top 6 are running out and for this week and game only it is fully in our hands. We HAVE to grab this opportunity as we won't get a better one to be in the driver's seat. Lots of teams are in the mix and whilst most seem to be imposing (ourselves included) the guarantee is that at least 1 or 2 will go on good runs so we cannot rely on other teams to falter, we have to do it ourselves. I suspect decent results won't be enough, we need good, strong results like winning today. Ordinarily I'd fancy us - a team that has played midweek, a team that will have to come at us. All things in our favour. However that defence of ours - it looks horribly weak to me and could cost us the win. Tosin is not as good without Lenihen and Nayambe in the middle is a huge miss at right back. Think this is what we will get though. Also Derby are amongst the teams I dislike the most from the 3rd party ownership of Rooney through to the handling of the car crash incident they are a dispicaeble club. Hope we stuff em on top of needing the 3 points.

I think if you look at most managers cheap free transfers the majority (not counting the big wages ones like Graham) aren't that good, probably in part because they are free! Varney, Brown, Caddis, Greer, Marrow, Leuts, Koita (was he free?) Jeffers, Fowler are the names that jump off the page for me. All pretty poor. If the main transfers are solid though I don't think anyone has the problem with these gambles not working out. Little risk and cost so no harm done. It's when the main transfers don't work out that often (TM) or these cheap freebies are relied upon too much (Coyle, Bowyer end of tenure) that this becomes a problem.

On loan with Lambert, signed permanently by Coyle I think. I could be wrong though. Either way it's a pretty limited lot that Coyle got to recruit.

Naff all. Dack cost 3 times the outlay on transfer fees that were spent the year before. Talk about handicapping yourself. Between that and appointing Clueless with hindsight we were certs for relegation. I imagine Graham and Mulgrew were on a fair wedge with good signing on fees, although I doubt either was at the top end of the championship wage or signing on level, at but for the rest they were a rag tag lot who cost next to nothing.

Think 47er has this right. Coyle had a terrible deal budget wise. No way did Coyle have a good budget - they were all frees, loans and Williams. Incoming ,£10 mill plus, and he spent £250k on fees. Coyle was useless and got many of his transfers wrong but let's not pretend he has had a decent budget. He had a terrible one. He's an appalling manager and still dropped some clangers in the transfer market (Stokes for one) but with regards to budget he had a bum deal. TM has had a lavish budget in comparison. TM spent more on fees in League 1 then Coyle spent. (Mentioned for purposes solely of budget comparison.) Both Bowyer at the end of his reign and Coyle got terrible deals in the budget department, to the point where I would say they were shafted. This imo is separate to their quality as a manager which is a different matter altogether. We don't need revisonism to paint Coyle as a bad manager he can do that himself. His only mitigating circumstance was that he had a poor budget. He still manager to make things a lot worse mind with how he used it and his tactics.